Soon-To-Be JHU Full-Time MPH grad. AMA!

[medception]

Hi all,

I'll be graduating from the Johns Hopkins MPH program next week, and wanted to open up a forum for prospective students looking to go into public health as a career choice. Happy to answer any and all questions regarding my experience over the past year!

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[MazKanata]

That's great that you are graduating from the JHU MPH program, I remember your posts about difficulties with family and other stuff and I'm glad it worked out.

Regarding JHU . . . do you think now it was worth it? What are the best concentrations at JHU in terms of intellectual stimulation and job opportunities?

 

[rap15]

Do MPH students take classes or interact with MSPH students?

 

[medception]

That's great that you are graduating from the JHU MPH program, I remember your posts about difficulties with family and other stuff and I'm glad it worked out.

Regarding JHU . . . do you think now it was worth it? What are the best concentrations at JHU in terms of intellectual stimulation and job opportunities?

TBH, I don't think it was worth it. The program is far too fast-paced to be able to recruit for jobs and network meaningfully, and the quarter system is just unnecessarily stressful.

 

[medception]

Do MPH students take classes or interact with MSPH students?

Yes, they do! Aside from the Summer Term in July - August, all of your classes will have a mixture of masters and Ph.D. students in them.

 

[medception]

Answer for another poster who DM'ed me:

Question:

The way I see it, the MHA is more focused around the business of healthcare and how you can manage it. I was initially really interested in this choice until a few people told me that while an MHA is a good degree, it would be tough to get jobs since I would just get beat by those who have MBAs who are also really interested in the business side of healthcare. They then told me that instead of being someone who would simply implement the healthcare laws into a business practice with an MHA, I should opt to be the person that could actually help in establishing newer laws/policies through the MPH in Health Policy. From what I understood, they were saying it had much less competition/field saturation and a much higher career outlook in terms of making $$.

Can you provide your insights into whatever you know about both these degrees and which ultimately has the better career outlook?

Appreciate all your help! Thank you!

Answer:

Honestly, anyone who holds an MPH, MHA, or an MBA in healthcare management can recruit for all of the same or similar jobs out there in public health or health business. You can do more with the MPH than the MHA - the MHA sort of pigeon-holes you into a specific career path. Further, DO NOT do the dual MPH/MBA program, as the MBA program at JHU Carey is a bit of a degree mill and not well-ranked/highly-regarded.

 

[rap15]

TBH, I don't think it was worth it. The program is far too fast-paced to be able to recruit for jobs and network meaningfully, and the quarter system is just unnecessarily stressful.

Yes, they do! Aside from the Summer Term in July - August, all of your classes will have a mixture of masters and Ph.D. students in them.

that being said, would you recommend going for the MSPH instead of the MPH? I'll have 2 years of work experience, but I'll only be 24 when starting grad school, and I know the MPH cohort is generally older. It sounds like there would be more time to network given that the MSPH is a 2 year program.

 

[saor0516]

Hi!
I'm weighing my options between going to Northeastern for my MPH (30k including scholarships) or JHU online/part time MPH (65k including employer scholarships). Do you think I would miss out on valuable networking opportunities at JHU by doing the MPH part time? Do you think it would be worth the 65k and complete lifestyle change to accommodate this JHU degree?
Thanks so much!!

 

[medception]

Do MPH students take classes or interact with MSPH students?

They do - almost all classes are a mix of MPH, MSPH, and Ph.D students. There are even some students who are taking random classes alongside their day jobs at Hopkins Hospital across the street.

 

[medception]

that being said, would you recommend going for the MSPH instead of the MPH? I'll have 2 years of work experience, but I'll only be 24 when starting grad school, and I know the MPH cohort is generally older. It sounds like there would be more time to network given that the MSPH is a 2 year program.

The MSPH degrees are definitely more focused, as the MPH is school-wide where you simply pick a concentration. The MPH only skews older because literally half of the class are foreign MD's. Also, the MSPH degrees have 2nd year "field experiences," which are essentially full-time job placements.

 

[medception]

Hi!
I'm weighing my options between going to Northeastern for my MPH (30k including scholarships) or JHU online/part time MPH (65k including employer scholarships). Do you think I would miss out on valuable networking opportunities at JHU by doing the MPH part time? Do you think it would be worth the 65k and complete lifestyle change to accommodate this JHU degree?
Thanks so much!!

Don't do the MPH at Hopkins on a part-time basis unless you are a practicing physician or other executive. If you are early on in your career, the networking opportunities you will have as a full-timer will be much more valuable!

 

[User2187]

Hi
I completed my general surgery from India and planning to move to US now due to various reasons. As I am not sure whether I will do my residency in US, I want to know the job prospects of MPH, if at all I had to settle down in public Health stream. And I got a seat in Boston university, is joining in top and expensive universities is advisable or mediocre university is better in terms of contacts and job prospects?

 

[BoardManGetsPaid]

Why public health over medicine if I may ask?

 

[Reggaemylitis]

I am interested in JHU and their FT program. My question is did you receive any of their scholarships?

 

[Sth1022]

TBH, I don't think it was worth it. The program is far too fast-paced to be able to recruit for jobs and network meaningfully, and the quarter system is just unnecessarily stressful.

Totally agree - I am in the MSPH program - although I learned a lot, way too fast paced, not enough direction / help with the complexities of PH topics. The quarter systems are not enough time to learn all the concepts and my GPA took a huge fall. Really not great when you're trying to apply to PhD programs..

 

[icedblackcoffee]

Can you expand more on the mha vs mph debate? Is it really competitive to get into an mha progam? Do you know what schools have great health policy programs and are they competitive as well? I'm also interested in other concentrations (global health, community health, etc.) so if I have an mph degree will it really matter when I'm applying to jobs (in health policy field)? When I read over job requirements they ask for MPH but don't specify that it has to be in health policy so I was just curious how important it really is.